Category Archives: 1) Decline

Decline will be death by a thousand cuts as too many problems occur and overwhelm societies ability to fix them (i.e. Tainter’s “complexity”). Already our infrastructure (oil and gas pipelines, electric grid, roads, bridges, etc) has a Report Card of D from the American Society of Civil Engineers. All 18 components of essential infrastructure, from the electric grid to the financial system are vulnerable to cyber-attack, The end of growth means bankruptcy for cities, pensions, families, and businesses, and no credit for energy companies to borrow for new projects to obtain oil, coal, and natural gas, the real drivers of the economy (just try putting dollar bills in your gas tank)

Extreme flooding from slow hurricanes a danger to farms

Posted on January 1, 2021 by

Preface. Yet another danger from climate change for agriculture will be slow hurricanes and cyclones dumping a foot or more of rain over a few days such as the recent hurricanes Harvey (2017), Florence (2018), and Dorian (2019). Journal reference: … Continue reading →

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800 scientists: Burning forests for electricity & heat releases more 1.5x more CO2 than coal, 3x more than natural gas

Posted on December 29, 2020 by

Preface. The 2015 Paris climate change agreement states that burning biomass is carbon neutral. Not true. Over 800 scientists have written the European Parliament to tell them that burning wood for heat or electricity emits 1.5 x more CO2 than … Continue reading →

Posted in Biomass, Climate Change, CO2 and Methane, Deforestation | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Civilization will collapse in 20-40 years from deforestation

Posted on December 26, 2020 by

Preface.  At current rates of deforestation, forests will be gone in 100-200 years. Long before that, in 20-40 years, the effects will be felt, with a 90% chance of civilization collapse likely.  Below “deforestation in the news” are excerpts from an … Continue reading →

Posted in Deforestation, Limits To Growth | Tagged , , | 14 Comments

Only a fifth of Earth’s land has little human influence

Posted on December 23, 2020 by

Preface. Humans have basically taken over the best land on the planet, the places where we aren’t ruining it are really cold, high or dry areas of land, such as arctic landscapes, mountainous areas or deserts. Alice Friedemann   www.energyskeptic.com  author … Continue reading →

Posted in Biodiversity Loss, Deforestation, Limits To Growth, Overpopulation | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Electrify ships with batteries?

Posted on December 17, 2020 by

Preface. You’d need 100,000 metric tons of batteries taking 40% of cargo space to go from Asia to Europe in 31 days on an 18,000 TEU container ship, and it is hard to imagine how or how long it would … Continue reading →

Posted in Ships and Barges, Transportation What To Do | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Millions in danger of floods on Mississippi and Missouri

Posted on December 5, 2020 by

Preface. Here’s something for you young folks considering “where to be” after energy collapse. Flooding is a huge consideration. My great grandfather was a doctor in Oklahoma who saw many lose their homes and farms from floods and die from … Continue reading →

Posted in Climate Change, Floods, Where to Be or Not to Be | Tagged , | 1 Comment

What can California do about sea level rise?

Posted on November 11, 2020 by

Projected sea level rise from one meter (dark red) to six meters (light orange) in California’s Bay Area. (Weiss and Overpeck 2011) Preface. Nearly all, if not all, possible solutions to rising sea levels along all the coasts in the … Continue reading →

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Kurt Andersen on Trump & Covid-19 in “Evil Geniuses”

Posted on September 27, 2020 by

Preface. If you want to know all the economic and political history that got us to the right-wing extremist Trump and Republican party, there’s no more entertaining way to do so than Kurt Anderson’s latest book “Evil Geniuses”.  Better yet, … Continue reading →

Posted in Disease, Politics | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

EV cars and utility scale energy storage batteries are not likely to materialize

Posted on September 21, 2020 by

Preface.  Clearly there’s not enough minerals and metals to shift from fossil fuels to electric vehicles and utility scale battery storage, due to peak critical elements, peak platinum group elements, peak precious elements, peak rare earth elements, and peak everything … Continue reading →

Posted in Automobiles, Batteries, Battery - Utility Scale, Peak Lithium | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments

A book review of “Thundersticks: Firearms and the Violent Transformation of Native America“ by David J. Silverman

Posted on September 12, 2020 by

Preface. This is a book review of “Thundersticks: Firearms and the Violent Transformation of Native America“ by David J. Silverman 2016. I found this book hard to put down.  It should be read because it tells the role guns played … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Nature, Military, guns, Slavery, Social Disorder, Violence, War Books | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on A book review of “Thundersticks: Firearms and the Violent Transformation of Native America“ by David J. Silverman